Voldemar Väli (10 January 1903 – 13 April 1997) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n two-time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medalist in Greco-Roman

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

Career

Voldemar Väli was born in

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276. Th ...

, on the island of

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the isla ...

. He began training in wrestling at age 17, and four years later competed at the 1924 Olympics, but was eliminated in a preliminary bout. In 1926 he won his first European title and established himself as a world top featherweight and later lightweight wrestler. He missed the 1932 Olympics because Estonia did not send a team due to the Great Depression, and finished out of the podium at the 1933, 1934, 1937 and 1938 European Championships; however, he earned a bronze at the 1936 Summer Olympics in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

.Vaeli, Voldemar (EST)
iat.uni-leipzig.de Domestically he won 19 titles between 1922 and 1942 in Greco-Roman and freestyle events. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in 1944 he emigrated with family to Sweden.Väli, Voldemar
Eesti spordi biograafiline leksikon He ended his sporting career in 1945 after a match between the local

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to oth ...

and the team from Stockholm. He beat the Swedish champion Einar Karlsson. Väli worked a crane operator at the

Port of Tallinn Port of Tallinn ( et, Tallinna Sadam) is the biggest port authority in Estonia. Taking into account both cargo and passenger traffic, it is one of the largest port enterprises of the Baltic Sea. Port of Tallinn is a publicly listed company manag ...

. In Sweden, he was a metal worker and later established a

doll A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...

factory with his wife.

References

External links

GBR AthleticsEurolympic.org: The European Olympic CommitteeOlympics History: CBS SportsLine.com
1903 births 1997 deaths Sportspeople from Kuressaare People from the Governorate of Livonia Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Estonian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers of Estonia Olympic gold medalists for Estonia Olympic bronze medalists for Estonia Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Estonian World War II refugees Estonian emigrants to Sweden European Wrestling Championships medalists {{Estonia-wrestling-bio-stub